The 1968 Election and the Silent Majority

1
The 1968 Election and the Silent Majority
2
Tet Offensive and Presidential Approval

• In the first days of 1968, President Johnson and
  General Westmoreland expressed optimism about
  Vietnam.
• However, on January 30th, the North Vietnamese
  and Viet Cong launched a massive offensive on the
  lunar holiday of Tet.
• US forces achieved military victory, but
  Americans were shocked and demoralized by the
  strength of the enemy.

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Overview of the Tet Offensive
http//www.britannica.com/eb/article-234636?tocId
234636refnews0905arc
5
The New Hampshire Primary

• On March 12th, President Johnson narrowly
  defeated Senator Eugene McCarthy in the first
  primary.
• The challenge to LBJ illustrated the disunity of
  the party.
• This was an embarrassing development- LBJ was is
  serious political peril.

6
Quest for the Democratic Nomination Eugene
McCarthy

• McCarthy was an outspoken opponent of the Vietnam
  war.
• He attracted liberals and white suburbanites.
• Student volunteers cut their hair and dressed
  conservatively to make a good impression. Be
  Clean for Gene!

7
LBJ Declines to Run

• Four days after the NH Primary, Senator Robert F.
  Kennedy announced his candidacy.
• The combination of low approval, the stress of
  Vietnam, the disappointing NH primary, and RFKs
  challenge discouraged LBJ from running.

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Quest for the Democratic Nomination Robert F.
Kennedy

• RFK was anti-war and he reached out to African
  Americans and Latinos. He was charismatic and
  popular, splitting the anti-war vote.
• RFK supported the National Farm Workers Union
  strike against grape producers, led by Cesar
  Chavez.
• He soon overtook McCarthy, winning nearly all the
  primaries.

10
RFK Announces the Death of Martin Luther King

• On April 4, shortly before addressing a mostly
  African American crowd at an Indianapolis
  campaign rally, RFK learned of Kings
  assassination.
• Although advised not to speak that night, RFK
  informed the crowd of the tragedy in Memphis.

11
RFK Assassination

• Hours after winning the decisive California
  primary on June 4th, Kennedy was assassinated
  while addressing a crowd in the early morning
  hours of June 5th.
• Thus, in the 1960s, America witnessed the
  assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X,
  Martin Luther King, and Robert F. Kennedy.

12
Quest for the Democratic Nomination Hubert H.
Humphrey

• After Johnson's withdrawal from the race, Vice
  President Hubert Humphrey announced his
  candidacy.
• He had a strong civil rights record and ties to
  organized labor, but his affiliation with
  Johnson and support for the Vietnam made him
  unappealing to anti-war voters.
• After Kennedy's assassination, Humphrey was the
  only candidate with the credentials to secure the
  nomination.
• Humphrey did not compete in the primaries, but he
  did use his political connections to garner
  enough delegates to win at Democratic Convention
• Ironically, his campaign was called "The Politics
  of Joy."

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1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago

• The events of the Convention, dramatically
  illustrated the divisions in the Party and
  society.
• Anti-war activists planned a massive
  demonstration. In response, Chicago's Mayor
  Richard Daley refused all parade permits and
  mobilized over 20,000 law enforcement personnel,
  including local police, the National Guard, and
  US Army.

15
Violence at the Convention

• On August 28, as demonstrators marched toward the
  convention arena, a "police riot" occurred.
• Officers fired tear gas and beat protesters and
  reporters indiscriminately.
• Humphrey won the nomination, but the Democratic
  party was hopelessly fractured.

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Disorder on the Convention Floor
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The Nixon Campaign

• At the 1968 Republican Convention in Miami
  Richard Nixon was nominated on the first ballot
  and Spiro Agnew emerged as his running mate.
• Nixon campaigned as the champion of the "silent
  majority," the hardworking Americans who paid
  taxes, did not demonstrate, and desired a
  restoration of "law and order.
• Nixon vowed to restore respect for the rule of
  law, reconstitute the dignity and stature of
  America, dispose of ineffectual social welfare
  programs, and provide strong leadership to end
  the turmoil of the 1960's.

19
The Wallace Campaign

• For the first time since 1948, a serious third
  party candidate ran for president.
• Alabama Governor George Wallace, an ardent
  segregationist, railed against anti-war
  demonstrators, urban uprisings, and school
  integration initiatives with incendiary language.

20
The Significance of Wallace

• Wallace did surprisingly well in the polls until
  his selection of Air Force General Curtis LeMay
  as a running mate.
• LeMay famously advocated the use of nuclear
  weapons to "bomb North Vietnam back to the Stone
  Age," and this did not resonate with most
  Americans.
• Wallace won only five states in the Deep South,
  but his limited success illustrates the
  polarization of American public opinion and the
  lingering influence of racism.

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The Outcome of the Election
22
Analyzing the Outcome

• Richard Nixon only narrowly defeated Hubert
  Humphrey, but the combined total of popular votes
  for Nixon and Wallace indicate a shift to the
  right in American politics.
• The 1960's began as an era of optimism and
  possibility and ended in disunity and distrust.
• The Vietnam war and a series of assassinations
  and crises eroded public trust in government and
  produced a backlash against liberal movements and
  the Democratic party.

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Multimedia Citation

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